Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

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Cover of the International edition

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a 2003 book, the fifth book in the Harry Potter series of children's books by J. K. Rowling. The book was published on 21 June 2003 in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, and several other countries. It sold almost seven million copies in the United States and the United Kingdom combined on that day. It has 38 chapters, and is about 255,000 words long [1].

The Canadian version of the book is made from recycled paper and saved 29,640 trees in the initial print run of 1 million books.

The first official foreign translation of the book appeared in Vietnamese on 21 July, 2003, when the first of 22 instalments was released. The first official European translation appeared in Serbia and Montenegro in Serbian, by official publisher Narodna Knjiga, in early September 2003. Other translations appeared later, e.g. in November 2003 in Dutch and German. The English language version has topped the best seller list in France; while in Germany an unofficial distributed translation process has been started on the net [2].

In the Czech Republic a college student translated the book in July/September and one 14-aged schoolboy made it available on private website. This led to confusion, many newspapers stated that this unofficial translation was done by group of teenagers [3] and the official Czech publisher (Albatros [4]) announced that they will sue the schoolboy. Later they took the action back.

Meanwhile, in Britain, the Home Secretary, David Blunkett, has complained about the delay of the cassette version of the book, as well as its projected price [5].

Plot Synopsis

Cover of the American edition

The Order of the Phoenix

After being locked in his room for several days, a large menagerie of wizards and witches come to rescue Harry. They take him to a hidden location in London, where the Order of the Phoenix is stationed. This is the home of Sirius Black's parents, who used various techniques to hide the building, making it ideal for the Order. The Weasleys, Hermione, and Sirius are all living there. Sirius has been ordered not to leave the house because of the Ministry's continued search for him (see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for details). Harry is angry about being kept in the dark, and also perturbed by the fact that Ron and Hermione were made prefects while he was not. Everyone explains that the secrecy was under Dumbledore's orders; Harry also manages to learn quite a bit about what has transpired since the summer began.

Although both Harry and Dumbledore have told the world that Lord Voldemort is back, no one believes them. Indeed, the Ministry of Magic has made it their job to discredit them both, using the wizarding newspaper The Daily Prophet to slander the duo. Those in the know, however, have resurrected the Order of the Phoenix, which existed the last time that Lord Voldemort threatened the world. A number of new members are in the Order as well, and it is dedicated to saving everyone from the resurgence of Death Eaters and Voldemort.

Harry on Trial

Harry's hearing for his possible expulsion from Hogwarts and loss of his wizarding status finally arrives. It fills much of the household with trepidation, but they are fairly confident that he will come out okay - he used the magic strictly in self-defense, which is an allowed exception to the rules. However, upon arrival at the Ministry of Magic, Harry and Mr. Weasley find out that the time of the hearing has been changed to take place earlier, and its location moved to deep down in the basement, near the Department of Mysteries - and when Harry arrives, he realises that it is, in fact, where he had witnessed at least one other trial through Dumbledore's Pensieve. And, in fact, a full trial has been called, with the entire Wizengamot assembled. Although this appears to be an attempt to both intimidate Harry and keep Dumbledore from showing up as Harry's defense, the ancient wizard and headmaster of Hogwarts appears nonetheless; with Mrs. Figg as a witness, testifying that the Dementors were real, not mere figments of Harry's imagination or lies, Harry manages to be exonerated. However, something seems strange - Dumbledore scarcely pays any attention to Harry, and as the young boy leaves, he sees Lucius Malfoy conferring with Cornelius Fudge. This shocks Harry, as Malfoy is a known Death Eater, though Arthur Weasley alludes to bribery.

Return to Hogwarts

Eventually, of course, Harry and the other kids must go back to school. On the Hogwarts Express they meet a girl named Luna Lovegood, who rises to prominence role later in the book. At Hogwarts they discover two shocking bits of news: Hagrid has still not returned from whatever task Dumbledore sent him on at the end of last term, and their new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher (Dolores Umbridge) not only does not want to use actual spells, but in fact works for the Ministry of Magic and seems to be pushing their agenda on the school. Harry recognizes her as the woman sitting next to Fudge at his hearing.

Once school starts, things happen at a rapid pace. The fifth year is the year in which the O.W.L.s are given, and the teachers push hard for the students to do well on them. Professor Umbridge gains more and more influence on the school, through a succession of new laws passed by the Ministry of Magic, until she actually becomes the Hogwarts High Inquisitor, and begins to poll both students and teachers about their abilities. Ron is made the new Keeper for the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Umbridge's Oppresion

When Dolores Umbridge refuses to teach anything useful in her Defence Against the Dark Arts classes, Hermione convinces Harry to give lessons to a number of students who want to learn how Defence Against the Dark Arts really works; reluctantly, he agrees, and they all sign a paper stating their intent to not squeal on the group to Umbridge.

Hagrid has returned as well, looking much the worse for wear. Although he eventually divulges his recent whereabouts, he is much more reluctant to come clean about the cause of his injuries. Both he and Professor Trelawney are under heavy observation by Umbridge, as she seems to suspect both of being incompetent; Umbridge also dislikes "half-breeds," and Hagrid is half-human, half-giant.

As Umbridge convinces Fudge to pass more and more edicts activities in the school become more and more curtailed. All student groups are banned; the Slytherin Quidditch team is almost immediately reactivated--to no one's great surprise--but the Gryffindor team is held up until Minerva McGonagall goes over Umbridge's head and has Dumbledore reinstate it. The Slytherins compose a ditty entitled "Weasley is Our King" in an attempt to make him extremely uncomfortable and therefore a poor player. It works, but Harry captures the Golden Snitch in the first game to clench victory. However, a fight afterwards was provoked by Draco Malfoy, resulting in Harry and the Weasley twins, Fred and George, to be permanently banned from playing the game by Umbridge.

Dumbledore's Army

Secretly, however, the Defence Against the Dark Arts classes led by Harry go on. They now call themselves the "D.A.", initially for Defence Association but settling on Dumbledore's Army, as many believe Fudge's recent actions against Hogwarts are to keep Dumbledore from creating an army of his own to use against the Ministry of Magic.

All along, Harry has had a number of strange dreams, mostly about running down a hallway and attempting to open a door. Eventually, however, he has a dream from the point of view of a snake, where he attacks Ron's father, Arthur Weasley. Waking up, he immediately tells everyone, and Arthur is indeed discovered with poisonous snake bites. Harry begins to wonder if he is being possessed and transported by Voldemort to do his bidding; others reassure him that this is not so. Soon, however, Dumbledore orders Harry to be placed under Severus Snape's tutelage in the art of Occlumency, the ability to block one's mind from being manipulated.

Hermione arranges for Harry to interviewed by Rita Skeeter (though Rita only agrees because otherwise Hermione would reveal she's an unregistered animagus to the authorities). Luna Lovegood's father happens to be the editor of The Quibbler, and her father agrees to take Rita's article. When the article appears, Umbridge is furious: she forbids Harry from Hogsmeade weekends and bans students from having copies of The Quibbler. Fortunately for Harry, this merely gives the newspaper the lure of the forbidden and soon the publication spreads like wildfire throughout the school despite Umbridge's frantic efforts to stop it.

Umbridge attempts to throw Trelawney out, but Dumbledore allows her to stay at the castle; in her place, a centaur named Firenze, who Harry met in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, becomes the new teacher. This irritates Umbridge greatly; Dumbledore did not consult her, and she dislikes "half-breeds" like centaurs and Hagrid.

A Dating Disaster

Harry's continuing attraction to the Ravenclaw Quidditch player Cho Chang further complicates the situation; he is awkward and confused in close situations with her, an accurate enough representation of most fifteen-year-old boys. A particularly painful experience in the wizarding town of Hogsmeade appears to destroy what little foundation the two had built for their relationship; Cho's jealousy of Harry's relationship with Hermione appears to be the key factor.

Things begin to come to a head when someone eventually does tell Umbridge about Dumbledore's Army; the sneak gets what's coming to her, but Harry is captured. Dumbledore actually tells Fudge that it was all his idea, and that it is indeed a plan to depose Fudge as the Minister of Magic. He goes on the run, and Umbridge installs herself as the new Headmaster and begins the Inquisitorial Squad. All of the teachers dislike her intensely, and the Weasley twins use their considerable talents to give her as much trouble as they possibly can.

The Weasley twins set off one last conflagration so that Harry can talk to Sirius via the fireplace in Umbridge's office - the rest are under watch after Sirius used them once too many times to talk to Harry - and are caught; they decide to leave school in a spectacularily memorable manner, and to use the winnings from the Triwizard Tournament that Harry had given them to finally start their Joke Shop.

Sirius in Trouble

During the OWLs, Harry and others witness a group of people attempting to capture Hagrid to expel him. Professor McGonagall tries to stop them, and is hit with a large number of Stun Charms, which requires her to be hospitalized. Soon after, Harry has a dream which seems to complete the journey down the hallway: as Voldemort, he has Sirius captured in the Department of Mysteries, and is torturing him slowly.

Harry and his crew make a desperate attempt to contact Sirius via the fireplace in Umbridge's office, but the Black family's house-elf tells Harry that Voldemort has indeed taken his godfather; Umbridge and her minions--students, all Slytherin--capture Harry's gang. She attempts to get Snape to give her some Veritaserum, but he says he has none left; little does she know that he is also a member of the Order of the Phoenix. She also tells Harry that it was she who ordered the dementors on him during the summer. Thinking fast, Hermione makes up a story about who they were trying to contact, and says that they were protecting a weapon, and that she and Harry would take her to the weapon.

Escape to London

There is no weapon in the woods, but they entice Umbridge into the woods knowing that the centaurs, very angry that one of their brethren now works for humans, are disposed to hate adult wizards. The centaurs take Umbridge away, and are about to do the same to Harry and Hermione, when Hagrid's half-brother--a "small" giant named Grawp, whom Hagrid had brought back with him from his quest over the summer--appears and distracts the centaurs. The rest of the gang appear, and they all decide to go to the Ministry of Magic to rescue Sirius, riding on thestrals, horse-like creatures which only people who have seen death can see.

Upon arriving at the Department of Mysteries, and after a number of false turns, they arrive at the location in Harry's dream, to find not Voldemort and Sirius but a bunch of Death Eaters (including- among others- Draco's father Lucius Malfoy, McNair the executioner in the employ of the Ministry, Azkaban escapee and former Department of Mysteries/Ministry employee Rockwood and Azkaban escapee couple the Lestranges- including Bellatrix Lestrange - cousin of Sirius Black and torturer of the Longbottoms). The vision of Sirius's torture at the Department of Mysteries was a trap--Voldemort realised that Harry could see his actions, and therefore planted fake ones--and the Death Eaters are there to force Harry to retrieve a prophecy. Only the people involved in the prophecy itself about are able to retrieve it (the prophecy is "kept" in a glass jar: the dusty glass jars Harry sees in his dreams). As Voldemort does not want to risk being found out, he lures Harry into retrieving it for him. The prophecy, made before Harry's birth, is apparently about Voldemort and Harry Potter. As an initial partial understanding of that prophecy was directly linked to Voldemort's initial downfall (when he tried to kill Harry as a baby), Voldemort is determined to hear the full prophecy.

The Battle

A great skirmish begins, with the students versus the Death Eaters. Most are injured, and as they near defeat, many of the adult wizards from the Order of the Phoenix appear to help them including Sirius. During the ensuing battle, the glass sphere which holds the prophecy is shattered, a ghostly image pronounces the prophecy but no one can hear it. Also, tragically, Sirius is fatally struck by a curse from the wand of his cousin and Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange. He falls through a veil held inside of an arch in the Death Chamber of the Department of Mysteries, which literally and figuratively marks his end. Dumbledore shows up and ropes off most of the Death Eaters, but one escapes.

Harry blindly chases after Bellatrix, intent to avenge Sirius' death, and as he is catching up with her in the main atrium of the Ministry of Magic, they have a small battle. Then Lord Voldemort himself appears inside the atrium. He and Dumbledore duel, and after a dramatic fight and a brief episode where Voldemort actually manages to possess Harry, tempting Dumbledore to kill him in the body of Harry, Voldemort eventually retreats via disapparating and takes Bellatrix with him. Alerted Ministry of Magic employees arrive in time to see him by themselves - most importantly Cornelius Fudge, who finally accepts Voldemort's return and believes what Dumbledore and Harry have been saying. In turn, the Daily Prophet reverses its hostile stand on the pair, restoring and gilding their reputations with the additional accolade as the forewarners of Voldemort's return in the face of all odds and opposition.

The Prophecy

As the story draws to a close, Dumbledore explains much to Harry. He did not wish to be close to him during the year, as he could sense Voldemort's growing power over the boy--indeed, on more than one occasion, Harry was filled with a desire to strike down Dumbledore. He regretted not helping Harry with learning Occlumency, and also tells him the prophecy: the copy in the Department of Mysteries was just that, a copy. It turns out that at her initial Hogwarts interview sixteen years ago (held in a room at the Hog's Head Inn in Hogsmeade) Trelawney predicted that either Voldemort would kill Harry or Neville Longbottom, or Harry or Neville would kill Voldemort. After Voldemort's attack on Harry as a child, the latter part of the prophecy was realised; Harry would be his foe, not Neville.

The existence of this prophecy brings clarity to Dumbledore's response to Harry when Harry recounts Trelawney's eerie prediction in The Prisoner of Azkaban about Voldemort's impending return: to this news from Harry, Dumbledore says something like, "This may bring her number of actual predictions to two... I should give her a raise." The first "real" prediction was about the Harry/Voldemort prophecy.

Dumbledore also elaborates on the reason why Harry has to stay at the Dursleys': as Harry's mother died for him, imparting him with magical protection through her sacrifice, he is safe in the Dursleys' home as Aunt Petunia shares Lily Potter's blood, therefore the protection extends to the Dursley home and Voldemort cannot hurt him there.

In the end, Harry goes back to the Dursleys', but not without Vernon and Petunia getting a stern talking-to by a number of wizards in the Order (including a menacing Mad-Eye). Changes are brewing in the wizarding world. Indeed, the last chapter of the book is entitled "The Second War Begins."

The film

The movie will be directed by David Yates and, according to David Heyman, the producer, is planned to begin filming in January 2006, and to be released in Spring or Fall 2007. Michael Goldenberg (Contact, Peter Pan) has been chosen to write the screenplay.

Points to Consider

• The book can be viewed as a commentary on both programmatic non-interactive education and on the repression of free speech. Umbridge's Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons are viewed by the students as so bad that they form their own group to teach themselves. Also, Umbridge's punishing Harry for talking about Voldemort and the banning of the edition The Quibbler containing an interview with him can be seen as attacking free speech.

• It may be the case that the Umbridge character is based on someone that JK Rowling knows and hates in real life. Certainly there are no redeeming features in the character whatsoever and she seems to be able to antagonise every 'good' character in the book, including the usually neutral/aloof teachers like McGonagall, who actually directly insults Umbridge at one point (I should have made my meaning clearer...He has achieved high marks in...tests set by a competent teacher, pg. 585). And while having a hated character is a necessary part of most fiction, the Harry Potter series is not short of those (Voldemort, Snape, the Malfoy family, Fudge - in this book - etc.). So it could be argued that JK Rowling is parodying someone she hates with Umbridge. Another possibility is that this reflects the attitude of some (many?) real life teachers to the Government's Inspectors of Education.

But there is another note to this, even characters who are seen as "evil" such as Voldemort have, at the very least, reasons for being that way. Indeed, Umbridge too has some human features.

• What is Percy's standing with his family now? While Fudge has now come round and believes in Voldemort, the fact is that Percy did some things while Fudge didn't that make a reconciliation with his family more unlikely. His argument with his father is one thing, but Percy also assisted in the Wizengamot trial against Harry and he wrote the letter to Ron warning him about Harry. Even if both Percy and his family believe the same thing now, are they going to be on speaking terms in book six?

• There are also strong parallels between the wizarding world in Book Five and pre-World War II Europe. In both instances, a great war has already been fought. However, the loser of the first war has been regaining power and building an army. The evil ruler embraces a racist ideology (many of the supporters of Voldemort are obsessed with maintaining the "purity" of wizard blood). Many respectable and powerful citizens fall under his sway and accept his ideology (The Malfoys, Blacks, etc). However, the civilians are unaware of the evil that is gathering, constantly fed placating rhetoric by the press (The Daily Prophet), and the government (The Ministry). Ironically enough, however, the leader of the forces of evil is himself a "half-blood" - just as Hitler was brown-haired and blue-eyed instead of a perfect Aryan, so is Voldemort a "half-blood" (half-wizard, half-Muggle).

Reference

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Rowling, J. K.

Hardback (British edition, 'child' dust-jacket/printed board): ISBN 0747551006

Hardback (British edition, 'adult' dust-jacket/cloth-covered board): ISBN 0747569401

Hardback (US edition, 'child' dust-jacket/printed board): ISBN 043935806X

Hardback (US edition, 'adult' dust-jacket/cloth-covered board): ISBN 0747569401

de:Harry Potter und der Orden des Phönix hu:Harry Potter és a Főnix rendje nl:Harry Potter en de Orde van de Feniks ja:ハリー・ポッターと不死鳥の騎士団 pt:Harry Potter e a Ordem da Fênix sv:Harry Potter och Fenixorden